A miscalculated decision in Duque de Caxias, the third-largest city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, led to enormous lines of people hoping to receive Covid-19 vaccines this week. Local mayor Washington Reis decided to reduce the age range of people allowed to take the jab from 80 to 60 years old.
According to official data, the city has around 86,000 people within this age group, but only has enough vaccines for 7 percent of them. To make matters worse, the decision to lower its vaccination age attracted residents from nearby towns, creating 4-kilometer-long queues at a drive-thru immunization center. Residents do not require proof of address to receive vaccination in Duque de Caxias.
Mr. Reis said that there are not enough doses for everyone and that the demand for vaccines from other cities is “normal and inevitable.”
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